Manchester United Still World's Most Valuable Sports Franchise

Cowboys, Yankees, Redskins trail British soccer team's $1.8B value

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MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - MARCH 21: Ji-Sung Park of Manchester United celebrates after scoring the winning goal with team mate Nani during the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester United and Liverpool at Old Trafford on March 21, 2010 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

With a third of a billion followers, it shouldn't surprise that British soccer juggernaut Manchester United is the world's most valuable sports franchise.

The legendary club retained its position in the annual list of Forbes' top sports teams, which included 25 teams with estimated values of $1 billion or more.

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In second place were the Dallas Cowboys, who just moved into a brand new stadium built by oilman owner Jerry Jones. The football team's worth of $1.65 billion topped the New York Yankees by a mere $50 million, though the Yankees' annual revenues of $441 million dwarfed the Cowboys' sales.

Other top finishers were the Washington Redskins ($1.55 billion), New England Patriots ($1.36 billion), Real Madrid ($1.32 billion) and the New York Giants and London-based soccer club Arsenal, both at $1.18 billion.

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Man U's owners, the Glazer family, also owns the NFL's Tampa Bay Bucaneers, who were twelfth on the list at an estimated value of $1.09 billion.